Man's Best Friend
by Lorilozz
Summary: Jamie's new dog has everyone wrapped around his tiny little paw - everyone except his father that is. Dogs are supposed to be a man’s best friend, but this one is Nathan’s worst nightmare. Let the games begin.


**Title:** Man's Best Friend

**Summary:** Jamie has a new dog and he's got everyone wrapped around his tiny little paw - everyone except Nathan, that is. Dogs are supposed to be a man's best friend, but this one is Nathan's worst nightmare. There's only room for one Alpha Male in the Scott household… let the games begin.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

**Author's Note:** This fic was written for the NHJ Romantics 1000th thread celebration on FanForum. I'd like to say thank you to Dawn, Molly and Kris for their help with this and to Diane for her feedback and for beta-ing it for me.

* * *

"Dad! Dad!" Jamie shouted excitedly as he ran to meet his father at the front door. "Guess what?"

Nathan chuckled at his son's exuberance and lifted him up into his arms. "What?"

"Uncle Luke brought over this cool dog." The little boy stated, his eyes shining with excitement as he bounced in his father's arms. "His name's Spot and we're best friends already." He added, nodding his head for emphasis.

"Your best friend? What happened to Andre?"

Jamie wrinkled his nose as he thought about the question. "Well… Andre is still my best friend I guess. He's my human best friend."

"Your human best friend?" Nathan asked with an amused grin. "So that would make Spot your dog best friend?"

Jamie rolled his eyes and sighed in a way that showed he was trying to be patient with his father's lack of understanding. "Nooo… Don't you know that dogs are a man's best friend? That means Spot is just my best friend."

"Oh, of course. Silly me." Nathan laughed, putting his son back down on the ground.

"Come see him, dad. You'll love him."

Entering the kitchen, Nathan stopped short when he found his wife and brother kneeling on the floor petting what looked like some kind of overgrown mangy rodent. It was small and gangly with skinny little legs, a pointy face with long hairy ears that were much too big for its head and little beady eyes. It had wiry grey hair with lots of black patches and a long hairy tail. Damn, that was one ugly dog.

Haley and Lucas both looked up with huge smiles. He recognized Haley's expression as the one she always used when she was trying to butter him up and wanted something. Luke, on the other hand, was looking far too amused and smug. None of this was a good sign.

He said a quick hello, kissing his wife and hugging his brother before they went back to giving their undivided attention to the rat-dog - as he was starting to think of it. Seeing the conspiratorial look that passed between his wife and son as they prattled on about how cute the thing was, Nathan felt a trickle of dread. They were going to try to convince him to keep this ugly little creature. He shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, what's with the rat?" he asked with a smirk aimed at his brother. Luke had got him into this trouble and he could damn well get him out. He was determined not to give in to any amount of sucking up or flat out begging from his family. It was time to play bad cop, big time. "Been through all the girls in Tree Hill, so now your only option for company is a dog that hit every branch of the ugly tree?"

"Dad!" Jamie admonished his father with a gasp. "Don't say stuff like that. You'll hurt his feelings."

"Your Uncle Luke has a thick skin, buddy. He'll be fine."

"Who cares about Uncle Luke? You're always mean to him." Jamie stated bluntly and the three adults chuckled, knowing it was true. The two brothers were forever heckling each other. "I'm talking about Spot. Don't be mean to him. He's very sensitive."

"Yeah, Nate. Spot has feelings and you need to respect them." Luke added with a smirk.

Mentally rolling his eyes at his son's dramatics and his brother's manipulation, Nathan ignored the rat-dog as it scampered its way over to him with its ugly little tail wagging. He grimaced as it rubbed its ugly little head against his leg and jumped up, placing its ugly little paws on his thigh waiting for some more attention.

Grudgingly, he could admit it was kind of cute – in an 'only a mother could love it' way, but he'd never had a dog growing up and wasn't sure he liked the idea of this one being his first. Maybe they could get a pure bred dog that looked more… well, that wasn't quite so ugly.

As if sensing Nathan's thoughts, the fluffball retreated giving him some kind of rat-dog glare and a dismissive snort before running back over to his family who welcomed it with open arms and a round of 'awws' declaring him the cutest dog ever.

"I think he makes a perfect addition to your family, don't you agree, Nate?"

Nathan had to stop himself from reaching out and wrapping his hands around his sibling's neck. That little bastard was going to pay for this.

"Oh, I think he likes you best. We can always come and visit him at your place."

Jamie jumped up from where he was patting the rat-dog and flew at his father's legs. "Oh, please, Dad. Can we keep him? Can he live with us?"

"I don't think so, buddy…"

"But you promised I could get a dog this year! You promised!" Jamie cried with a defiant glare and tremulous pout.

"Boy's got a point," Luke added with another barely concealed smirk, "You did promise."

Taking a deep breath, he felt his wife's small hand slip into his as she whispered, "C'mon, Nathan. He's been asking for a dog for over a year. He's even been saving money in his puppy-bank… and just look at how happy is."

Looking down at his wife's hopeful eyes Nathan knew he'd lost the battle. There was no way he was going to be able to convince his wife and son that this was not the dog for their family. Sighing, he plastered on a fake smile and turned back to Jamie. "Okay. The dog can stay."

Jamie jumped up and down screeching his excitement and hugged his father before doing the same to his mom and his uncle. Nathan noticed his brother smirking again and glared back at him, mouthing that he'd pay for this later.

Glancing back at his wife with an amused smirk, Nathan murmured, "You do realize its name is Spot Scott, right?"

Haley giggled and nodded her head. "Yep. Luke and I already pointed that out to Jamie… but he didn't seem to think anything of it. Apparently rhyming names are all the rage… like Hannah Montana as your son pointed out earlier in Spot's defense."

"Jamie watches Hannah Montana?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Mmhmm… I think he and Andre have found their first crush."

Nathan immediately smirked and nodded his head in approval. "He could do worse than Miley for his first celebrity crush, although I'd rather go for…"

"Be careful what you say next." She warned with a playful shove.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Nathan quickly pulled her flush against him. "What I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted was that I'd rather go for a gorgeous little singer, songwriter, music producer that I know - Haley James Scott. Heard of her?"

"She's a bit of 'all right', is she?" Haley asked teasingly, but with a gleam in her eye that showed him just how much his flirting pleased her.

"Uh-huh… and damn, does she have a fine ass." He whispered huskily, slapping her butt and then chuckling as she squealed her surprise and glanced at Jamie and Luke to make sure they didn't see.

"Aw, look at them." Haley cooed. "He's so cute how he follows Jamie everywhere."

The dog barked excitedly as Jamie ran around the furniture and Nathan scowled, his good mood ruined as his attention was brought back to the ugly little creature he'd been railroaded into adopting. That sneaky little rodent had won his family over before he'd ever had a chance of stopping it. The rat-dog sensed his glare and turned back to him with a look of pure triumph that sent a shiver down the grown man's spine. This was not good.

Haley noticed her husband's rapid change of mood and turned back to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He gave a tight smile when she kissed his lips softly and whispered, "You're the best. I'll thank you properly… later."

"I'll hold you to that." He promised, snaking his arm around her and pulling her flush against him again, kissing her deeply.

A shrill bark from the dog drew broke their kiss and Nathan groaned in annoyance.

"Don't worry, Spot. You'll get used to it. They're always kissing." Jamie muttered with distaste.

Luke chimed in with a grimace. "Ick. I'll never get used to it."

"Go home, Luke." Nathan and Haley both ordered playfully, laughing as he backed up with his hands in the air in surrender.

"Fine, I'm going. Have fun with the new addition," he added, winking at his brother before waving goodbye.

"Remind me why I let you talk me into being nice to him back in high school."

Haley swatted her husband's arm playfully. "Admit it. You'd be lost without Luke around to tease."

"Yeah, you're right… as always." He added.

"Mmhmm… so listen when I tell you that Spot is going to grow on you just like your brother did."

Nathan looked at her skeptically, but refrained from arguing. He could already see how happy Jamie was because of the little mutt and he knew that no matter how much he disliked the little rodent, he would put up with it for the sake of his son.

~*~

Nathan's training session had been especially punishing today and all he'd thought about on the drive home was how he was going to grab a cool soda and relax in his favorite chair to watch the movie he'd TIVO'd the night before. Jamie was at his friend Andre's house for a sleepover and Haley had an artist recording at the studio and likely wouldn't be home for a couple of hours so he planned to enjoy having the house to himself.

…or not.

Stopping in his tracks, Nathan emitted a low growl of frustration. The rat-dog was sitting in his chair!

"Get off!" he thundered, stepping forward in his most threatening manner.

There was no response from the little mongrel at all. It lay there limp on his extremely expensive Italian leather recliner as though it didn't have a care in the world. Stepping closer, Nathan reached out and poked it softly but still got no response but a little muffle and a yawn. As much as he rued the day this thing had been brought into his house, it did look kind of cute sleeping there with its little tongue hanging out of its mouth and he figured it wouldn't hurt to let it sleep a little longer.

Stepping away from the chair with a small smile, Nathan shook his head ruefully. God, he really was a pushover. Just as he was about to leave the room, he thought he noticed a movement and glanced toward the chair finding rat-dog looking at him through one open eye. That little bastard had tricked him!

"Right! Get off the chair. Now!" he bellowed, stalking back into the room where the dog once again pretended to be sleeping.

"This is MY chair, you freaky little rodent, and if you're going to live here you need to learn the rules. Rule number one is that I'm the boss. Now get off MY chair."

To his absolute shock, Nathan watched as the dog sat up with a huff and jumped off the chair. "Well… See that wasn't so hard. Keep listening and we'll get along just fine."

Nathan's mouth gaped open as rat-dog sidled back up to the chair, cocked his leg and proceeded to pee on the expensive leather, never once taking his beady little eyes off his owner. Shocked as he was, Nathan didn't even react when the dog finished desecrating his chair and jumped back up, curling into an ugly little ball with his ugly beady little eyes staring him down with a look of smug victory.

With a none-too-gentle shove that sent the dog leaping off the chair, Nathan growled, "You little Motherf…"

The sound of a throat clearing cut off his curse and he found his wife watching him with a questioning glance. As angry as he was, he felt the edge of his mouth tip up at the sight. She always looked so damn sexy when she lifted one perfectly arched brow in a questioning expression.

The moment rat-dog saw Haley standing there it raced toward her, whimpering and cowering behind her legs as though being chased by some horrible monster.

"Aw sweetheart, it's okay. Big bad Nathan won't hurt you," she cooed, picking the rodent up off the floor. As she cradled it against her chest, Nathan swore it looked at him and gave a self-satisfied sigh. The little monster was evil. Manipulative and evil. And ugly!

"Rat-dog pissed on my chair! My favorite chair, Hales. And don't buy into the poor me; I'm scared routine because it's all an act. That little shit deserves an Oscar."

"Oh don't be ridiculous, honey. God knows what he went through before we took him in. He's possibly traumatized and is just trying to adjust to his new surroundings. He just needs some love and affection. Don't you, Spot?" she cooed softly, rubbing behind his ears.

"Someone may have been traumatized, but I highly doubt it was the damn dog." He muttered before stalking out of the room to get cleaning supplies for his chair.

Haley chuckled as her husband left the room. It was funny how he'd had the patience of a saint with his child no matter how difficult things got… but this dog was another story. He seemed to take everything the dog did personally which was ridiculous because this little hairball was way too adorable to ever do harm to anyone. Sighing, she placed Spot back on the floor and gave him a pat.

"He'll come around, baby… just try not to pee on any more of his stuff, okay?"

Leaving the room she shook her head and bit her lip anxiously. "Looks like there's only room for one Scott Alpha Male in this house. Lord help us."

~*~

Nathan tried not to act like a horny schoolboy as his wife came out of their en suit dressed in a tiny pair of boy-short panties and singlet top. Damn she was hot… and tonight they had the house to themselves. Jamie was at his sleepover and wouldn't be coming home until lunchtime the next day.

"Stop looking at me like I'm a juicy hamburger and you haven't eaten in days." Haley joked, all the while enjoying the way his eyes roamed over her body. She felt amazingly sexy whenever her husband watched her like that. He looked pretty damn good too, lying there on top of their bed in only his boxer shorts.

"Well… I haven't eaten you in about a week." He quipped, delighting in the way her cheeks flushed pink at the innuendo. She was by no means an innocent, but she'd never stopped blushing for him after all these years.

She crossed to the bed and crawled over him, straddling his waist. From the way his breathing hitched and his boxer shorts tented at the front, she knew he was more than ready for her. To be honest, she'd been ready for him all day. She loved her job and working at the studio was always fulfilling but she'd had trouble concentrating all day as thoughts of the night ahead had filled her mind. When the artist she was working with wanted to quit early today she'd been secretly ecstatic at the thought of going home early to see her husband.

Lifting his hand, Nathan threaded his fingers through her silky chocolate brown locks and gently guided her head down to meet him in a soft kiss. Her lips were warm and pliant and he would never get over how much enjoyment he derived from a simple kiss with this woman. He smiled against her lips as she took the lead and opened her mouth, tracing his lips with her tongue until he opened his own and let her deepen the kiss.

His other hand caressed her back and sides, dipping under the cotton singlet every now and then earning him a moan of pleasure. When she pressed herself down so that only fabric separated them and moved slightly back and forth against him, he responded with a moan of his own. The sound of their growing excitement filled the room, their muffled sounds of pleasure spurning them both on.

Another less familiar sound began to filter through the haze surrounding Nathan's brain and he frowned, pulling back.

"What?" she asked breathlessly before kissing her way down his jaw.

"Did you hear something?"

"No." she said quickly before capturing his lips again. He was going to protest but then he felt her warm hand slide under the band of his boxers and he forgot about anything else but the feel of her hand exploring him.

A loud howl startled them and they pulled apart once more.

"Okay, I heard that." She said, still breathing heavily. "It sounds like Spot is just outside the door."

"That stupid rat-dog!" Nathan cursed, more than pissed off at being interrupted while making out with his wife. "Just ignore it. It'll go away or fall asleep soon enough."

Nathan moved to pull her back down but noticed that Haley was biting her lip anxiously. His wife had a heart of gold and hated the thought of anyone or anything in distress so it was no surprise that the unhappy sounds of the dog would upset her.

"Spot will be fine." He soothed, almost choking on the word as he called the rodent by its name. "Just leave him be and I'm sure he'll be quiet soon enough."

"Okay." She agreed with a small smile. "Now where were we?"

"I believe you were feeling me up, Mrs. Scott."

"And would you like me to continue, Mr. Scott?" she asked coyly.

He smirked, guiding her hand back to feel just how much he enjoyed it before letting his own hands do a little exploring of their own. Just as they'd completely undressed and he was poised above her, ready to make love, the couple were startled once more by a large crash outside their room.

"Shit! I swear that dog is a worse cock-blocker than that fucking pain in the ass brother of mine!" Nathan cursed as he rolled off the bed and dragged his boxers on which felt a little tight in his current state of arousal. As he reached the door, he looked back to see Haley sitting up with the sheet pulled up to her chest, looking beautiful and desirable and he groaned in frustration. "Wait here and I'll be right back."

Opening the door, he reached out to flip on the light switch for the hallway and before he knew what had happened he was flat on his ass. "What the fuck?" he groaned, rubbing his lower back.

"Aw poor baby. Are you okay?"

Nathan pouted, ready for some sympathy from his wife and turned to respond, but the reply died on his lips as he realized his Haley was showering concern on the mangy mutt instead of him.

"You scared him, Nathan." She said softly, petting the dog's shaking little head.

Nathan saw red and gripped the doorway, pulling himself back up to his feet. He had to stop himself from racing over and strangling the rodent with his bare hands. What a manipulative little shithead. This was a nightmare. He should be making love to his wife night now, but instead the fucking dog was getting all of her attention while he stood there like an idiot, trying to rub away the pain in his ass.

"Are you serious? All I did was turn on the light – to see the damage that thing has done to our hall stand by the way – and it ran straight through my legs, tripping me on my ass. How the hell is any of this my fault? You should be worried about my poor ass, not that thing."

Haley smothered a chuckle at the sight of her husband acting jealous over a teeny little dog.

"It's not your fault, babe, but poor little Spot is shaking he's so scared. He must have realized Jamie wasn't sleeping in his room and came to find us, knocking over the stand on his way. This is all still new for him, Nathan." She said in a soothing manner as she gently rubbed the dog's back. "He can sleep with us tonight."

"Hell no! This is our night, Hales," Nathan whined, "I'm not missing out because you can't see through the act that thing is putting on for all of you. It did it on purpose. It's trying to ruin my life."

Haley shook her head and openly laughed this time. "Can you even hear yourself? You're basically telling me that this dog is some evil mastermind out to get you. Get a grip."

Nathan frowned, knowing she was right about how crazy he sounded. He'd have to watch that. "Can't we just put it back in its bed with something that smells like Jamie? Doesn't that work for dogs?"

Cuddling the dog into her breast, Haley shook her head. "He knows Jamie isn't there. It's not going to work. He just doesn't want to be alone. Why don't you go and get his bed and bring it in here? He can sleep in the corner."

Nathan sighed, knowing he was not going to be able to change her mind, and if he wanted to trade places and snuggle into his wife's luscious chest, then he knew better than to argue. Man, he hated that dog.

~*~

It was watching them. He could feel those beady little eyes on them and it was freaking him out. Haley didn't seem to notice, if her soft cries and roaming hands were anything to go by, but he was sure of it.

"Nathan, what's wrong?" she asked, stroking his face. "You don't seem to be… into this."

He kissed her softly. "God, Hales, I'm sorry, but I just can't concentrate."

"Wow." She said pushing him off her. "It's not every day a woman can't keep her man's attention while they're in the middle of making love."

Nathan winced realising he'd hurt her feelings. "Baby, no. It's not that… it's the dog. He's watching us. It's kind of freaking me out."

Haley glanced over to where the dog was sleeping peacefully in his bed and laughed. "You're imagining things, Nathan. He's sound asleep. What is it with you and this dog?"

He looked over at the ugly mutt suspiciously and narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn it was watching them, but he had to forget about rat-dog and focus on the fact that his wife was waiting for him to finish making love to her. He took a quick glance back over to find the dog staring at him and knew he hadn't been wrong. That damn dog was trying to ruin his life… or at least give him a serious case of blue balls.

"I'm sorry, baby, I just can't do this while it's in the room. Can't we move it back to Jamie's room?"

Haley glared at him and lifted her chin defiantly. "No, Nathan. I don't know what your problem is with this dog, but you need to get used to him because Jamie loves him and he's here to stay. Now, I need to actually get some sleep tonight so I vote against putting him back in Jamie's empty room where he can cry all night because he's scared and you're too much of an ass to care. If having Spot in the same room bothers you so much, maybe you should go sleep in another room."

Haley knew she was overreacting, but he was pissing her off and it still stung that he'd been so bothered by something that stupid that he'd actually had to stop during sex. Plus, she was still damn horny. But she had her pride and if he couldn't finish what they'd started then he could go without, even if it meant she had to go unsatisfied too.

Nathan glared daggers at the dog who once again gave off an air of smug triumph before sliding back into the bed. He scooted over to his wife and wrapped an arm around her, spooning her from behind. "I'm sorry, Hales."

She was quiet for a moment before turning to face him. "It's okay. I know you're not used to pets like I am and I shouldn't judge you for taking time to adjust to living with a dog."

Nathan bit back the urge to tell he that it wasn't pets in general that was the problem… it was that rat-dog that seemed hell bent on being a pain in his ass. He kissed her softly and held her tight as she snuggled into him.

"Let's just go to sleep and maybe tomorrow we can keep Spot amused with a toy in the backyard while we amuse ourselves." She whispered huskily.

"Sounds perfect." He responded, knowing he wasn't going to be able to sleep a wink with that little monster in his room.

~*~

"Spot! Fetch the ball. Gooooood boy."

Nathan looked out the window and down into the backyard where his son was playing with his dog. When he saw how happy rat-dog made him he could almost forget how much he hated the little shit. Jamie was running around the yard calling out and laughing and looking as happy as he'd ever seen him. When the dog caught up with the boy they'd both roll around in the grass, wrestling with his son laughing in delight and the dog's tail wagging wildly. Maybe he was being too harsh on Spot.

Nathan frowned. Even thinking the name 'Spot' instead of one of the many names he called him in his head seemed weird. But he was a grown man, not a child and he needed to start acting like one. It was time to put aside his dislike for the dog and start fresh. Maybe if he spent some time with Jamie and Spot he'd build a rapport with him. Perhaps the dog only responded to affection… and sickening adoration, Nathan added with distaste thinking of the way everyone but himself seemed to fawn over the animal. Pulling himself back into positive thinking he made his mind up. He would put on some old clothes and go have some fun with his son and their family pet – which was how he was going to try to think of him from now on.

Changed into a pair of old sweats and a t-shirt, Nathan grabbed his favorite old sneakers out of the closet and sat down on the edge of the bed to put them on. Haley had wanted him to throw out his 'lucky' sneakers for years claiming they were a gross risk to public health, but while they did smell a little, he wasn't ready to part with them yet. They were perfectly fine for wearing out in the yard. He was smiling to himself as he put on the first shoe, ready to put on a happy face and make his son's day by showing an interest in his new four legged best friend.

All his good intentions flew out the window, however, when he pushed his foot into the second sneaker and felt something solid, yet soft through his socks. Before he even withdrew his foot to take a look he already knew what it was. Seeing the offending brown mush on his white sport sock flipped a switch within him. He remembered everything he hated about the rat-dog. Every chewed sock, every sneaky little glare and haughty tail wag, his and Haley's interrupted night alone… and his poor recliner that he hadn't been able to bring himself to sit on since the pee incident. It sent him over the edge. Ripping off his sock, he stormed downstairs with an almighty scowl on his face.

"Honey? What's wrong?" Haley asked as she saw his thunderous expression.

"That fucking dog is what's wrong."

"Just calm down. What's going on?"

"That little rodent has it in for me. It is trying to make my life miserable and I don't care how crazy I sound, I know I'm right! Have you not noticed that whenever he does anything bad – as part of his adjustment," Nathan added sarcastically, using his fingers to make quote marks, "it is always something of mine he destroys, or me who gets hurt? It's always me he targets! He's evil and he hates me."

Nathan ranted and raved to his wife about everything the dog had done from the moment it arrived up until he'd found that it had pooped in his shoe. He knew he sounded like a paranoid crazy person but he'd had enough.

"If Jamie needs a dog, then we can find a better one. This one is a sneaky little rat and tomorrow he's going to the pound!"

At the sound of a horrified gasp, Nathan and Haley spun around to see their son who had obviously overheard them.

"You're not taking Spot away!" Jamie yelled from the doorway where he stood looking half angry, half terrified with the dog at his feet.

Nathan's heart fell at the sight. His son's trembling lip showed him just how upset he was and he felt like the biggest ass. Even the rat-dog's usual look of smug satisfaction was gone… and he seemed to be looking at him like he was some big awful bully. He could only imagine the look on his wife's face. In all honesty he was a little scared to look.

Brushing by her husband with a look that warned him to watch himself, Haley bent down in front of her son and stroked his hair, "Daddy's just upset and being silly. Why don't you and Spot go back into the backyard for a while? Daddy and I have some things to discuss."

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I shouldn't have said that." Nathan said apologetically feeling like the worst father in the world. He took a step towards his son, needing to reach out to him, to make things better, but Jamie immediately shrank back and pulled his dog with him in a gesture of protection before throwing one last glare at his father and racing stomping out the door. Ouch.

"Shit." Nathan muttered, as he leaned against the kitchen counter, bowing his head.

He felt his wife's arms wrap around him from behind and her cheek rest against his back. "You okay?" she asked with concern.

Turning around quickly, he drew her into his arms and kissed her hair. "I'm a total ass who deserves to be yelled at and you're asking if I'm okay? Sometimes I wonder why you put up with me, Haley James Scott."

"Because even though you can be an ass at times…" she said with cheeky smile, "you're one hell of an amazing guy; you make me happy and you make Jamie happy. Nobody's perfect… including that dog out there. I know you have your issues with Spot, but he is a good dog most of the time and he makes our son unbelievably happy. Do you think you can work on… bonding with him or something?"

"Yeah. Of course. That was actually the plan before I totally lost my cool earlier. I can see that Jamie would be devastated if we took his dog away. I'm sorry about my outburst."

"It's okay. Maybe you can go out and spend some time with them both. Spot might take more of a shine to you if you play with him."

"Mom! Dad!" Jamie raced into the house with tears streaming down his face. "I was playing with Spot and then I went around the side to find another ball and when I came back he was gone! The gate is open. I think he ran away. What if he never comes back…" he sobbed, "or what he gets hit by a car?"

Nathan knelt down and hugged his son, rubbing his back soothingly as the little boy clung to him seeking comfort. He hated to see him so distressed. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll go find him and bring him home. I promise."

His son pulled back and looked at his skeptically. Cupping the little boy's face, he looked at him intently. "I promise I will do everything I can to get Spot back home for you. He's a part of this family and he belongs here with us."

"Thank you, Daddy." Jamie whispered, still crying and hugging his father tightly.

~*~

"I've called every shelter within 50 miles; I've driven every road of this town over and over, spoken with all the neighbours and posted hundreds of flyers. Where the hell is Spot?!"

It had been two days since the dog had gone missing and there'd been no sign of him. Jamie was withdrawn and sullen, never smiling and always waiting for the phone to ring just in case someone had found his dog. Being the amazing little boy he was, Jamie had forgiven his father for his angry words and was now looking to him to be the hero of the piece and bring him back his best friend. Nathan had thought he could do it, had even thought he'd find the little guy that first day, but now he was losing hope. But he wouldn't give up. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his family and Jamie needed this so he'd keep searching until he found something.

"You've done all you can, Nathan. Hopefully somebody will return him to us." Haley said, rubbing his back soothingly. "And if not… well I guess this is just one of many lessons our little boy is going have to learn and we'll be here to help him.

"I'll just do one more drive around town tonight before bed."

"Nathan…" Haley protested. She loved her husband for being so determined to make their son happy again, but she wasn't sure it would do any good.

"I'll be home soon." He promised as he cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. When she gave him a small smile, he kissed her forehead before grabbing his keys off the bench and heading out to the car. Driving through the local streets he kept an eye out for any movement but besides a couple of cats roaming around there was no sign of Spot. Sighing tiredly, he headed back towards the house and pulled into the driveway. Switching of the engine, he rested his head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath. Pretty soon he was going to have to tell his son that his dog wasn't coming back.

Stepping wearily out of the car, Nathan made his way to the front door and nearly tripped over, bracing himself against the door to stop his fall.

"What the?" he muttered, looking down to the ground where he saw a little fluffball peering up at him. Could it be? Was this Spot?

Beady eyes. Check.

Overgrown ears. Check.

The fluffball made a familiar, pitiful whining sound and Nathan knew.

Annoying Whine. Check.

"Spot!" Nathan exclaimed, quickly bending down to scoop the dog up into his arms. "Am I glad to see you."

Haley, who had heard the noise, opened the door and her face lit up at the sight before her. "You found him!"

"He was waiting on the doorstep when I pulled up. We should check him over and make sure he's okay."

After giving him the all clear and feeding him some top of the range the range dog food – and leftover premium steak that Nathan snuck into his bowl when Haley wasn't looking, they took Spot up to Jamie's room. Even in sleep they could tell he was troubled. Ever since Spot had gone missing he'd had a permanent frown creasing his brow.

"Jamie. Wake up, sweetie." Haley said, shaking him lightly. The boy stirred and opened his eyes slowly. The moment they locked on the sight of his father holding his beloved dog, Jamie bolted upright and squealed his excitement.

Spot jumped out of Nathan's arms and into Jamie's, licking his face in excitement. Although the thought of the dog doing that to him made him shudder, Nathan's heart still warmed at the sight of the two of them together. His son was smiling for the first time in days and if Spot was responsible for that… well, then the little critter was okay in his book.

"Now, before Spot settles in for the night, I need to take him outside to do his business." Haley said, slapping her thigh as a command for Spot to come.

Jamie looked anxious, obviously worried about letting the dog out of his sight again, especially out in the backyard. "Check the gate first, Mom."

"I will, sweetie, now you go back to sleep and he'll be up here in his bed when you wake up in the morning."

After coming back inside with Spot, Haley found Nathan sitting on his recliner watching a game on ESPN. She watched as Spot walked slowly into the lounge room, looking at Nathan, then at the other sofa, then back at Nathan before jumping up on the sofa and lying with his little legs dangling off the edge. It was an amusing sight, the two males watching each other warily. Shaking her head with amusement she moved back into the kitchen to pack up the leftovers from dinner into the fridge. She frowned when she noticed that the steak that had been leftover was missing. Her husband's appetite astounded her, but at least he had a vigorous schedule so she didn't have to worry about him packing on the pounds… although, as much as she loved his amazing physique, having some softness to cling on to definitely wouldn't bother her either. Who was she kidding? It wouldn't matter what Nathan's body looked like. She'd still find him sexy as hell.

Nathan looked across at the dog who seemed to have lost its air of haughtiness and appeared content just sitting there. Maybe Haley was right. Maybe they just needed to spend some time together and then the dog would take to him. It was time to call a truce so he patted his thigh offering the dog a spot on the coveted leather recliner which had been where their dramas had first begun.

Haley watched all of this with amazement. She smiled at her husband's awkward, yet sincere attempt to bond with the animal. It seemed that Spot was happy to take the peace offering and within three seconds flat the dog scrambled from the sofa and had curled up on her husband's lap.

"You coming up to bed, honey?" she asked as she reached the stairs.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon. Me and Spot are just gonna… chill for a while."

"Okay. Don't stay up too late." She said, hiding her smile.

Haley woke up and stretched out her arm, reaching for her husband as she often did throughout the night, but found only cold sheets. Frowning in disappointment, she hopped out of bed and slipped into her robe. She stopped by her son's room and became even more curious when she found that he too was missing from his bed. It was still dark and both her boys should be resting peacefully in their beds. As she made it downstairs, she had to stifle a chuckle at the sight that greeted her. There on the recliner where she'd left him was Nathan, snoring softly with one arm around their son who lay half on his lap, half on the arm of the chair with his head on his father's shoulder. Normally that wouldn't be at all surprising, father and son often cuddled on the couch, but never had she found them doing so in the middle of the night and even stranger was the sight of Spot taking up the rest of Nathan's lap with his head resting on her son's leg. It made an adorable picture.

Quickly running for the camera they kept in a kitchen drawer, Haley took a couple of happy snaps of her adorable Scott boys for the family album. As cute they looked, Haley knew it was not good for them to spend the whole night in that position, especially Nathan who couldn't afford to get little kinks and cricks in his neck or back that could harm his training.

Gently shaking her husband's shoulder to wake him, Haley felt her heart flutter at the way a sweet smile bloomed on his lips when he noticed her smiling down at him. She could melt into a puddle of gooey sweetness when he looked at her like that.

"Hey, sleepy. It's awful lonely up in our big bed all by myself." She pouted playfully, ruffling his already mussed hair. Damn he looked so sexy when he was rumpled from sleep

Nathan reached out with his spare hand and stroked his wife's face tenderly. She was so beautiful and such a nice sight to wake up to. Glancing down he chuckled huskily at his son and the dog sleeping on top of him. He remembered closing his eyes for a moment earlier and had obviously fallen asleep, but he had no recollection of their son coming to join him and Spot. Jamie had snuggled into his shoulder with one hand resting on Spot's wiry coat and for the first time, Nathan realized that he actually had a soft spot for the little rat-dog curled on his lap. He was sure that the dog could fit into their family and that the two of them could co-exist amicably.

"Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to fall asleep… or for this little munchkin to get out of bed and join me."

"You should come to bed before you injure yourself in that chair." Haley said softly, lifting Spot off Nathan's lap. They both laughed as the dog whimpered at having his slumber interrupted so rudely. She cuddled him closely and he immediately snuggled into her embrace.

"Time for you to go out and do your business before we go back to bed." She told the dog who didn't look quite so pleased at that prospect.

Nathan secured his hold on Jamie and rose from the chair. "I'll put him back in his bed and meet you upstairs. Maybe we can find something more exciting to do than sleep." He added with a wink.

"Sounds good" she replied with coy smile, placing Spot on the ground. "Sleep's overrated anyway."

She watched her husband as he carried his son up stairs thinking about how lucky she was to have them both. Snapping out of her reverie, Haley headed towards the glass door to let Spot out when she realized he wasn't following her.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed in a low whisper. She'd turned her back for only a few seconds and Spot was cocking his leg and peeing on Nathan's chair… again!

Spot looked at her with his cute little beady eyes and overly large floppy ears and wagged his little tale innocently. Haley shook her head in amazement. "Nathan was right. You've been totally playing us all along."

Stalking over to the dog, she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. "Right. Let's get one thing straight, mister. I'm on to you. Jamie adores you so you get to stick around, but things are going to change. I'm not going to tell Nathan about this because… well because he's upstairs waiting for me and I need him in a good mood… are really good mood" she added distractedly with a smirk before refocusing on the dog, "but pull this crap again and you won't like the consequences. You like your nice warm bed in Jamie's room? Huh? Well just watch yourself or you'll be sleeping outside. Now go to bed." She ordered, pointing to the stairs and watched as the dog tottered off with his tail between his legs, sufficiently chastised.

Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her posture and giggled. She'd spent most of her life keeping Scott boys in line… why not add one more to the list?


End file.
